This invention is directed to a detection system for detecting the results of agglutination particle reactions produced within a diagnostic test slide and, in particular, to a detection system utilizing a laser scanner for detecting the occurrence of agglutination particle reactions within a diagnostic test slide.
A diagnostic test slide for effecting an agglutinographic reaction is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 932,067, entitled AGGLUTINOGRAPHIC SLIDE, filed in the name of the inventor herein, Hugh V. Cottingham, (hereinafter "the Cottingham test slide"). The Cottingham test slide causes an agglutination reaction to occur and causes the reaction to be displayed in a window display area. The presence or absence of an agglutination reaction is intended to be read by the human eye.
The disadvantage of using the Cottingham diagnostic test slide or, for that matter, any agglutination test that is read by the human eye is that the sensitivity of the reaction is limited by the ability of the human eye to resolve the differences between reacted and unreacted particles. As differences between the size of the reacted and unreacted particles becomes smaller, the error and subjectivity of a visual reading increases. Accordingly, an agglutinographic reaction detection system that utilizes a laser scanner in combination with a test slide to diagnostically detect the size and distribution of agglutinated particles is desired.